Paul Crocetti likes to play, watch and discuss tennis. He makes an annual pilgrimage to the U.S. Open in New York. He is currently the editor of the Waltham News Tribune.
This new blog will mainly discuss the professional game, from smaller
...

Paul Crocetti likes to play, watch and discuss tennis. He makes an annual pilgrimage to the U.S. Open in New York. He is currently the editor of the Waltham News Tribune.
This new blog will mainly discuss the professional game, from smaller tournaments to the majors. Business Editor Bob Tremblay, an avid tennis fan, will also provide his thoughts. Join the conversation!

Before the championship, Eugenie Bouchard had not dropped a set at Wimbledon, a run that included wins over the #3, 9, 20 and 25 seeds. That changed in a hurry for the #13-seeded Canadian.

Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, dominated Bouchard, 6-3 6-0, to win her second Wimbledon, proving she’s no one-hit wonder. Bouchard didn’t play well, but it’s hard to see Kvitova losing even if she did. Kvitova almost literally couldn’t miss. In less than an hour, it was over. It wasn’t tense or tight, but it is still a treat to see someone play that well.

It was disappointing to see Bouchard get down on herself so early in the match. The first time she was broken by the powerful Kvitova, it looked like the wind was out of her sails. And after she dropped the first set, she appeared to lose a lot of confidence and it was hard to see her coming back at that time. She didn’t have a meltdown (but maybe she should have allowed herself a racquet smash to let off steam in one fell swoop and then carry on) – she just didn’t look like she had that belief you need to win a major, especially against someone as talented as Kvitova.

With Bouchard’s first serve off, her service games were essentially target practice for Kvitova, who hit some of the hardest returns and groundstrokes of the tournament. When she had a short ball from Bouchard lined up, it was curtains for that point.

Kvitova’s toughest test of the whole tournament was actually against Venus Williams in the third round. Williams was the only player to take a set off her and came close to beating her in a tight third set.

Kvitova was gifted a nice draw, not having to play anyone seeded higher than Bouchard. But she could have beaten anyone today, and she is a deserving Wimbledon champion.